Henry f



(No Model.)

' H. F. SHEPHARD.

VEHICLE BRAKE SHOE.

No. 527,296. Patented Oct. 9, 1894.

A TTOHNE Y8.

m: NORRIS PETERS 0a.. PHurum-na. WASMINGTDN. n. c.

\ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. SHEPHARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VEHICLE-BRAKE. SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 527,296, dated October 9, 1894. Application filed January 10, 1894:. Serial No. 496,392. (No model.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. SHEPHARD, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, havejnvented a new and useful Improvement in Brake-Shoes, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvementin brake shoes, and it has for its object to provide a shoe so constructed that it will follow the curvature of the wheel to which it is to be applied, no matter to what degree the wagon body may be depressed by reason of a heavy load, or elevated by reason of being lightened of a load, thus causing the brake shoe to be at all times in a position to be applied to a wheel with a full bearing thereon from one end of the shoe to the other, and enabling a shoe to be employed of much greater length than common.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Views.

Figure 1 is aside elevation of aportion of a vehicle, and a side elevation of the improved brake shoe applied to one of the Wheels of the vehicle. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the improved brake shoe; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken essentially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The brake shoe A, may be of any desired length, and is suitably concaved to fit to the tire of the wheel. Upon the rear of the shoe, at the back thereof, a barrel 10, is either secured to it or integrally formed therewith, and the said barrel at its outer end is preferably provided with a rabbet 11, as shown in Fig. 3. The carrying shaft B of the brake shoe is provided with a spindle 12, which is preferably made round in cross section and threaded at its outer extremity.

The inner end of the barrel 10 is closed, with the exception of an opening located at its center, and a washer 13, is made to fit in the rabbeted portion 11 at the outer end of the barrel, said washer being provided with an opening registering with that in the rear wall of the barrel. A spring 14, preferably a coil spring, is located within the barrel, having bearing against the rear wall and against the inner face of the washer 13. Where the spindle 12 connects with the body of the carrying shaft a collar 15, is formed, and the said spindle is passed through the opening in the rear of the barrel and the openingin the washer 13, and a nut 16, is screwed upon the outer or threaded end of the spindle until the nected with a lever 17, fulcrumed upon the body, operated through alink connection 17 with any form of hand or foot lever likewise located upon the body portion of the vehicle. Under the above construction, when a brake shoe has been fitted to a wheel, as shown in Fig. 1, should the body of the vehicle be heavily loaded, said body will drop, and the brake in passing downward, should it engage with the wheel, will conform throughout its length to the curvature of the wheel, and when the brake lever is manipulated the shoe will engage with the tire of the wheel from one of its ends to the other; and even in the event the shoe should by any possibility be carried out of position, when forced to an engagement with the wheel it will contact evenly throughout its length.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent V 1. The combination, with a brake shoe and a barrel connected therewith, of a. carrying shaft provided with a spindle loosely passed through the barrel, and a spring encircling said spindle, and compressed within the bar- :oo

rel, and'its ends resting free and being thus adaptedto slide on the opposite contact surone portionof the barrel, a retaining device carried by the spindle and servingto maintain the washer of the barrel in position, and

a springrencircling the spindle and arranged with its ends in contact with washer and the rear wall of the barrel, and compressed endwise, as and for the purpose specified.

HENRY F. SHEPHARD.

Witnesses:

J. FRED ACKER, O. SEDGWICK. 

